Paul D'Arcy is a Professorial Fellow in the Asia Institute's Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies. He was born and raised in Otago, southern Aotearoa New Zealand. His research and teaching focuses on human interaction with the Pacific Ocean, Pacific climate perturbation and natural hazard mitigation, resource conflict resolution across Asia and the Pacific, and Pacific sustainable environmental futures. His work has been translated into four languages: Mandarin, French, German and Spanish.

Paul is best known for his environmental history research on the Pacific Ocean with over one hundred publications. His work has been characterized by his belief that the Pacific Ocean should be approached as an object of study and human engagement in the widest possible sense, connecting the past with urgent problems and issues in the present ranging from resource depletion to climate change mitigation. His most notable recent publication, the 2023 multidisciplinary, two volume Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean, of which he was general editor, was the co-winner of the 2024 John R. Lyman Book Awards, the major prize of the North American Society for Oceanic History.

Paul has three books on the Pacific Ocean coming out in the next year. His current research explores relations between Asian countries – and China in particular – and the Pacific in both historical and contemporary times and their relationship to the key issues facing the Pacific, particularly climate change and resource conflict resolution. This includes a co-edited collection highlighting innovative approaches towards sustainable oceans from the next generation of researchers and policy makers.

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